Education is crucial for children as it provides them with the knowledge, skills, and values they need to succeed in life. It helps them develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and emotional intelligence. Education also opens up opportunities for children, such as better job prospects and a higher earning potential. It empowers them to make informed decisions and contribute positively to society.

The African Bush Camps Foundation understands that education is a fundamental human right that helps break the cycle of poverty and create a more equitable world. The Foundation has many projects running in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana with a strong focus on education. Many schools in these countries suffer from a shortage of educational resources, with 5 students sharing one textbook and some being sent home due to a lack of stationery.

We understand the critical need to remove barriers to learning and ensure students have access to quality education. This is why the ABCF embarked on a stationery drive at the end of 2022, which was aimed at raising 1000 stationery packs for learners in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia for the 2023 academic year, ensuring that no child is left behind.

This year, the African Bush Camps foundation visited their educational projects in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana to hand over stationery packs to learners in the first month of the new academic year.

The ABCF Communications and Fundraising officer, Koinonia Baloyi,  gave us some more insight into how the day went and the impact it had on the students.

“We had such an exciting month at our schools in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana as we handed out the stationery packs to the learners in preparation for the 2023 school year. It warmed our hearts to see the learners so excited to have new stationery for school. Many of our kids are turns away from school because they don’t have pencils and note books to use in class and the school doesn’t have enough resources to support all the learners. We are really grateful for moments like these as a foundation where we together with our donors and partners can ensure that no learner gets left behind this year.

The “ululation” marks a moment of great cheer and celebration and to watch parents dancing and cheering in celebration of what we have collectively done for their children this year with the back to school drive, engraves these small acts of kindness for us as a foundation as little steps that make a huge impact.

Each learner received a stationery pack with notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, ruler and sharpener. So often we take for granted being able to buy stationery for work and school but for many of these children this is a first for them at the beginning of school year to have something new to work with. Watching our safari guide Godwin from our Somalisa camp teaching the little ones how to use a sharpener by sharpening a stick, is such a powerful reminder of the impact we constantly strive to make in our schools: to educate and to empower our learners to succeed”.